Word of a Savior
by Shestrun
Summary: A baby, a stable, some shepherds, a message from angels... and a letter, bearing the happiest news the world has known.


I suppose I don't own this, either…

So this is the first of my Twelve Days of Christmas postings.

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Liya rolled up the letter and tied it with a leather string. _Ready to go. _

She knew exactly where to go. One of the houses nearby had a second occupation; travelers who came through often stopped by to see if they could earn a little money carrying letters, and anyone who wanted to send word to a friend could hire a traveler going in their direction.

The problem was that she already knew what travelers were heading in the direction of Naomi at the moment. Or rather, traveler. Mariana.

The girl was infamous in Bethlehem; she kept leaving her husband to visit her family, and, most people assumed, a lover. Not only that, there were rumors that she rarely delivered the letters, but often read them and preyed on the secrets contained therein.

_Well, I don't have any other options. And everyone should know about this. Besides, this is happening for such as her, right? _

That settled it.

It didn't mean she liked it.

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Mariana slipped her sandal back on. It was far more comfortable than it had been before, with rocks poking into her foot. _Ah, that's better. _

The strange girl, whose name Mariana had never learned and didn't really care about, handed her a rolled-up letter. She slipped it into her pack with a nod, also accepting a few coins.

"Have a good trip."

Mariana stared at the girl, confused. _Why does she care? _

Shrugging the girl off and her pack on, she left the house for the road. _Time to go home. _

She knew that nobody understood why she kept returning to her family. They didn't seem to understand that she felt safe with her brothers like nowhere else. On occasion, her older sister even came for a visit, and those brief reunions seemed to feed her with love.

Some hours later, dusk blanketed the land. Mariana found a relatively sheltered campsite near a stand of trees. She wasn't the first traveler to use the site; a pile of ashes and burned wood encircled by rocks marked at least one campfire in days past.

Mariana started another and opened her bedroll. The letter from the strange girl caught her eye. _What message could possibly be so important that she would use __me__ to ferry it? _

She never could resist the impulses of her curiosity. She opened the scroll.

The writing was controlled, yet flowing, a difficult combination which resulted in a beautiful yet perfectly legible script. Mariana admired it for several moments before she began reading.

My dearest cousin Naomi, 

I hope all is well with you and your family. I was saddened to hear that Isaiah broke his arm. Please write back and tell me how he is doing. 

Now that we've got the small talk out of the way, I really should tell you about some curious happenings around here lately. 

About a month ago, the entire town went crazy trying to support everyone traveling for the census. The only benefit of this was that a few people had to go somewhere else, so their houses were empty and available for lodging. 

Even so, there were several dozen people at least who just had to sleep out in the open. There was this young couple -the woman was very pregnant, more on this in a bit- who managed to convince someone to loan out their stable because she was in labor… 

Well, that's what I heard through the grapevine, anyway. 

I did see the baby after he came, though. Me and the whole of Bethlehem. It seemed like the entire world had decided to come and visit. The weirdest thing I saw was when these shepherds from who knows where showed up, wanting to visit the baby. And this was the same night; there was no way word of a baby could have reached them that quickly. 

Of course, they had some weird excuse. Something about angels and a message from the sky. I think they're crazy, personally, but you can track them down and ask them if you want. It shouldn't be too hard to find them; they've been going around everywhere telling everyone about the message in the sky and the baby they found… 

Now all anyone can talk about is the baby. Some people think he's supposed to be the Messiah. I'm not sure what I think about it. It does fit with what I've heard about the Promised One, but he wouldn't be the first one. The shepherds, though- that's new. 

Well, that's pretty much it. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on this kid -his name's Jesus, by the way- and see what happens. I guess if he starts miraculously healing everybody and rising from the dead, then we'll know, right? 

So anyway, write back soon, and God bless you. 

Your loving cousin, 

Liya 

P.S. Mariana, you really should stop reading other people's mail. You really should. But please tell your family about the baby. I have this feeling people should know. 

Mariana smiled to herself as she went to bed. Impulsively, she laid a hand on her abdomen, wishing the world could see her baby. She could hardly wait.

For now, though, the joy of the baby in Bethlehem would do.

It was good news.

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On the first day of Christmas, my kitty (Marie) said to me, "I ate the partridge in the pear tree".

Merry Christmas.


End file.
